Eight Redhawks football players got an up close look at the 2018 NFL Draft, courtesy of the NFL providing area schools passes to attend the three day event at AT&T Stadium in Arlington Thursday-Saturday.

“It just makes me want to become a better athlete and be more like them because they are on the most successful stage that you can be at,” junior Josh Burtch said. “If your trying to be like them, there is no way that you can’t be successful.”

With team captains given the chance to walk the red carpet alongside a few NFL athletes and executives, the opportunity offered insight into the professional league.

“It was pretty cool,” junior Nick Taylor said. “Willie McGinest; he’s from my favorite team, the Patriots. It’s a once in a lifetime thing. It’s good to hear for people that have been there, done that, people that are very experienced.”

With more than 100 athletes in the football program, and only eight passes available, the coaches had certain attributes in mind when picking those that were invited.

“We wanted to pick kids that represent our program the right way,” assistant football coach Justin Koons said. “I’m not saying that our other players don’t. These are the leaders of our program, these are the guys that younger guys should look up to and they lead by example and we wanted to honor them and give them a reward for the hard work they do not just on the field, but off the field.”

With a dream of one day taking the field at AT&T Stadium as a Cowboy, junior Myron Huff used the day to imagine the possibilities.

“It’s what I want to do when I grow up,” Huff said. “I want to be able to go to the draft and get drafted by an NFL team. It’s just fun to be able to be in the environment of what you could be when you get older. Just being able to know that this could be possible at the end of it.”

Known as the high school football capital of the world, players such as junior Garrett Rowe take pride in the game.

“Football’s taught me a lot about responsibility and time management and how to work together as a team and a family,” junior Garrett Rowe said. “It’s really interesting, especially in Texas where football is a huge event. It’s just interesting to see the culture around it and how everybody responds to it.”